Individual-towel-rack structure.



H. A. AMMANN.

INDIVIDUAL TOWEL RACK STRUCTURE;

APPLICATION FILED FEE- lo. I916.

1 84,549. Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

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H. A. AMMANN.

INDIVIDUAL TOWEL RACK STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- IQ. I916.

1 ,284,549. Patented Nov. 12, 1 918.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

HENRY A. AMMANN, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO DIAMOND INDIVIDUAL TOWEL SYSTEM 00., 0F SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

INDIVIDUAL-TOWEL-RACK STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Nov. 12, 1918.

Application filed February 10, 1916. Serial No. 77,531.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. AMMANN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Individual- Towel-Rack Structures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in individual towel rack structures and is an improvement on the device shown in my patent dated Feb. 22nd, 1916, No.1,172,245.

In practice, it was found that some device was necessary to co-act with the follower means in order to retain the last few towels in position after the majorportion of the towels had been withdrawn, and therefore, it is one of the features of this invention to provide retaining means engaging that side of the stack oftowels opposite to, and in opposition to, the engagement of the remaining side of the stack by the follower means. Thus, with my present construction, even the last towel will be held in position so that the rack will present a neat appearance just before the stack has become completely exhausted.

In this kind of device where the towels are supported on edge by a shelf engaging the lower edges of the stack, I found that it was advantageous to actuate the follower in such manner as not only tohold the follower against the front of the stack, but

also to free the follower from engagement with the shelf, as far as possible, especially as the stack diminishes. It is a feature of this invention to so actuate the follower as to eliminate drag of the latter on the shelf when the follower has reached approximately half of its rearward travel so that during the latter portion of its travel the follower will be substantially parallel with the retaining means thereby rendering the latter efficiently co-active so as to prevent all of say the last three towels from being pulled out when the fourth from the last towel is being withdrawn. or in other words, by withdrawal of the fourth from the last towel.

It is a feature of this invention to provide a flexible stringer on which the towels are strung at the laundry, and on which stringer the towels are locked while in transit from the laundry to the place of use, and during utility and also, in transit from the place of use back to the laundry. Thus my invention includes the stringer, as an improved article of manufacture, and additionally, a locking lug for attachment to the stranger.

In addition. to my improved retaining means, my invention also includes an improved form of cabinet and follower.

Other objects and features of my invention will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 isa perspective view of one form of my towel rack structure showing the towels in position ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rack structure with the towels omitted and illustrating a portion of the structure broken away to show interior parts.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: is a View partly in elevation and partly in section of my improved locking lug.

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a clean sta'ck'of towels strung on my improved stringer.

Fig. 6 is adetached view of one of the weights.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures of the drawings.

As illustrated, my improved rack is made up of back. side and front walls, 1, 2 and 3, a bottom wall 4 serving to form.with the other walls, a lower receptaclefor the soiled towels. The bottom wall 4 is recessed or cut away at its corners, as indicated at 5, in order to render the cabinet sanitary when washed and to permit of free ingress and passage of air. As will be seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the cabinet is effectively reinforced by inwardly extending flanges 6, 7, and 8, which reinforcements, together with the front wall 3, render the cabinet sufficiently rigid. The front wall 3 extends up- I wardly from the bottom 4 foronly a portion of the height of the cabinet so as to provide for ingress of the soiled towels into the receptacle. At the rear corners of the cab inet I weld or otherwise anchor guards 9 which function to project vertically movable weights, hereinafter to be described, against interference by the soiled towels when the receptacle is substantially full. I preferably arrange the guards 9 so that they will extend lengthwise appreciably a distance equal to the length of travel of the weights.

Above the receptacle for the soiled towels, and fixed to the back and side walls is a shelf 10. The front margin of the shelf 10 is bent downwardly to form a reinforcing rib 11, or the latter may be formed of a separate bar of steel. I have shown the shelf 10 cut away in V-shaped form, as indicated at 12, so that drippings from the rinsed hands of the user will descend through the opening into the lower receptacle. If such rinse water should happen to descend upon the shelf 10, it will drain off through the opening 12 by reason of the fact that the shelf is inclined from the cabinet sides toward said V-shaped opening. I arrange the apeX' of the 1' '-opening nearest the back of the shelf so as to avoid weakening the shelf and also because of the fact that it is not necessary to'have the opening as large at the rear as at the front of the cabinet. Furthermore. 'by inclining the shelf toward said opening I- greatly restrict the area presented for engagement by the follower and by limiting the amount of such engagement I increase the freedom of movement in the follower. as will hereinafter'more fully ap pear. The shelf 10 is cut away at its rear corners, as" indicated at 13, to permit of descent of the weights therethrough, downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 3,

where the parts are assembled.

Reference will next be made to my new follower which is indicated as a whole, at 14:, and which is centrally cut away or reduced in he ght, as indicated at 15. I prefer to diagonally cut away the follower so that the right end will present a very considerable area of contact to the foremost towel of the stack whereas the left hand end will not only present a reduced area of contact but will free the towels for easy removal from behind and over the follower. At the extr me left hand end of the follower I provide a somewhat slender upright arm 16, which-engages the left hand front portion of the stack substantially throughout the height of the latter. I also proportion the follower so that it will extend underneath the flanges 7, and behind the flanges 6, in such a manner that the latter will form effective guards or stops against movement of the follower forwardly of the flanges 6 or upwardlv above the flanges 7. These flanges effectively function as stops notwithstanding the, fact that the follower is movable on the shelf 10 with a considerable amount of play. The follower 14 is an actuated follower and I will now describe the manner in which the follower is actuated and the function that it performs.

At each end of the follower I provide a pair of lugs or tabs 17, one pair only being shown. Through the upper tab 17 I thread one end 18 of a cord and knot such end. The cord is then run downwardly through a loop 19, on the back of the cabinet, and is thence threaded through an eye 20 or pulley 20 of a weight 21. The cord is then threaded upwardly through a lower eye 22, on the back of the cabinet, and is thence drawn forwardly and threaded through lower tab 17 and then knotted. Similar loops 23 are provided for cord 24;, at the other end. and both cords are fastened and operate identically the same.

It is desirable to lift the follower 14; free from engagement with the shelf 10 after a certain number of towels have been withdrawn from the stack and therefore the eyes or loops 19, 22 and 23 are somewhat elevated with respect to the points of attachnent of the cords with the follower in such a manner that as the follower approaches the rearward limit of its travel, the cords will exercise such a lifting action that the follower will float throughout the remainder of its travel. The upward pull or impulses imparted to the follower by successively pulling thetowels upwardly from behind thesame, in withdrawing the towels, has been found in practice to be sufiicient to elevate the follower because of the fact that the follower is held in somewhat snug frictional engagement against the foremost towels. However, direct, positive and sudden upward jerks of towels that are being withdrawn cannot objectionably displace the follower because of the flanges 7 functioning as stops. Furthermore, it is not objectionable to have the follower elevated free from engagement with shelf 10 within the limits provided by the stops 7.

It is an important feature of this invention to support the towels on. edge, and in stack form in such a manner that "the towels may be withdrawn without moving the stack as the latter decreases in volume. It will be understood tnat the weights can le much lighter if it is merely necessary to use the follower. FlllllllGYIHORE. by having the cords attached to the follower at superposed points, the tendency will be for the follower to always assume a substantially true vertical position. However, inasmuch as the cords are threaded loosely through the weights, the follower can conform to bundles of towels that are irregularly stacked and the device will always work efficiently. In practice, I have found that the follower will act to right the stack the stack de creases in volume irrespective of the lack of uniformity of the towels when the same were originally stacked.

I will next describe my improved retaining means which is designed for engagement with the rear of the stack to co-act with the follower for the purpose of holding even the last towel in. position.

In the form shown, I provide a retainer which is initially of channel cross-section, the web 25 thereof being welded or otherwise suitably anchored to the back wall 1 of the cabinet. Upper and lower flanges 26 and 27 project outwardly from the back wall 1, preferably horizontally, and I prefer to bend said flanges downwardly at a slight incline to the horizontal so that the outer edges 27 and 28 will effectively act to arrest upward movement of the. last towel when the next to the last towel is being withdrawn. One of the reasons why the towels are so easily withdrawn from behind the follower, notwithstanding the pressure of the latter against the stack, is because, the fact that the follower presents a smooth enameled surface to the front of the foremost towel. Now the towel, back of the foremost towel, is held against upward movement, with the foremost towel, becauseof its fabric engagement against the stack, and therefore, the foremost towel is always held with less friction than the towel i111 mediately back of it. It follows that when the stack is exhausted excepting for the rearmost towel, that it is necessary to present a frictional surface to hold the rear most towel in position, and the downwardly inclined edges 27 and 28 perform this function remarkably well. If the towels were backed up against the smooth back wall 1, four or five, or may be more of the last towels would all come out at once, as the stack neared depletion.

Now it will be appreciated why it is so important to have the follower float as the stack nears depletion. It will be observed that when the follower floats and there are only a few towels between the follower and the retainer, the cords will hold the follower against the lower retaining flange with as much pressure as it does against the upper retaining flange solely because this equality of pressure is not interfered with by friction drag of the follower along the top of the shelf.

I prefer to employ a stringer which. is en tirely flexible and when the towels are strung at the laundry or other assembling place in stacked form, as shown in Fig. 5, the stringer 29, which may be made of bailing wire extends from opposite sides of the stack. One end of the wire is pointed or sharpened, as indicated at 30, to facilitate penetration of the wire through the towels. At this point, I desire to emphasize the fact that the towels are entirely imperforate and j are not provided with either gromets or eyelets. The remaining end of the wire is provided with an enlargement which may be in the form of an eye 31, which may be formed of the wire itself. After the towels are strung, as shown in Fig. 5, I preferably lock the towels from movement endwise off from the wire and I will now describe the novel means of performing this function.

As illustrated more particularly in Fig. l, 82 designates a locking lug which may be provided with an eye 33. Said lug isprovided with a bore 34: through which the sharpened end of the wire is projected, and the bore preferably intersects the eye 33. A screw 35 is threaded into the lug for engagement with the wire to hold the latter in the position shown in Fig. 4. The lug 32 may be recessed at 36 and I provide the screw 35 with an irregularly formed head 37 so that the screw 35 can only be operated by a particular form of key, not shown, and which is in the possession of the operator at the laundry, but which is not accessible to persons where the rack is located. The wire 29, may if desired, be wrapped about the clean towels in transit therewith from the laundry to the place of use, the important point, however, being that the wire goes with the clean towels from the laundry to the place of use, and that the towels are absolutely locked on the wire.

IV hen a stack of clean towels is to be inserted in a rack, the follower 14; is advanced to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the stack 38 is inserted between the follower and the retaining means. The eye 31 is advanced through a loop 39 and then to the right where it is connected with a snap 40, on the back wall 1. Thelug end of the wire projects forwardly from the towel stack 38' through the central cut away portion of the follower and forwardly with respect to the shelf 10. The lug 32 is then extended or passed down into the receptacle and through a loop 4-1 on the bottom wall 4, and then forwardly where it is connected with a snap by means of the eye 33. The wire serves as a guide or retainer along which the towels may be advanced. to the point of use and the particular location of the loop l1 permits the towels to readily slide down along the retainer by gravity, and into the receptacle because of the fact that the loop.

locate the loop 39 sufliciently close laterally to a strict rearward position behind arm 16, so that the wire itself will act to hold the left hand edges of the towels behind arm 16, viewing the structure from the front of the rack. Because of this arrangement, the arm 16 ser es to hold th left hand edge of even the last towel, in upright position, because the arm 16 serves to impinge th towels against the upper flange 26.

After all the towels have been used, and they are all soiled and in the receptacle, the operation of replenishing the rack merely consists of unsnapping the eye 31 from snap hook ll) and unsnapping' eye 38 from snap hook 42 and removing the wire and towels bodily from the rack. Even then the towels are locked on the wire, and the soiled towels and wire are transported back to the laundry. A new or clean stack will then be in serted in the manner just described, previously.

I consider it a feature of novelty to provide a wire having, an enlargement on one end and a sharp point on the other, and 1 con sider that my improved locking lug is a novel structure or article of manufacture, per 86, and also in combination with this form of wire.

it is believed that the novelty and utility of my invention will be fully understood from the foregoing description. and while I have herein shown and described specific forms of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim l. In an individual towel rack structure, a rack provided with a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on. ed e, an actuated take up follower means engaging" the foremost towel of the stack, and retaining means engaging the rearmost towel of the stack and coacting with said follower means to hold the rearmost towel in position when all the remainder of the towels of the stack have been withdrawn. substantially as described.

2. in an individual towel rack structure, a rack provided with a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge. an actuated takeup follower means en ging the stack on one side thereof, and a retainer edge portion en gaging the stuck on the opposite, side thereof and enacting; with said means to retain the last towels of the stack in position after the major portion of the towels have been withdrawn. substantially as described.

3. In an individual towel rack structure. a rack provided with a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge, an actuated follower means engaging the stack on one side thereof, and horizontally disposed flange edge portions engaging the stack on the onposite side thereof and coactingz with said means to retain the last towels of the stack in position after the majorportion of the thereof, and superposed horizontal flanges inclined downwardly and presenting edges for engagement with the opposite side of the stack and coacting with said means to retain he last towels of tlze stack in position after the major portion of the towels have been withdrawn, substantially as described.

5. In an individual. towel rack structure, a rack having a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge, a substantially vertically disposed follower, cables connected with said follow er, weights connected with said cables to move said follower against said stack, and eyes through which said cables are run, said eyes being relatively elevated to incline said cables upwardly from the horizontal with respect to the points of attachment of said cables to said follower thereby acting to lift said follower free from engagement with said shelf, substantially as described.

6. In an individual. towel rack structure,

a rack ha ing a shelf for supporting a stack of towels on edge, a follower, a pair of cables each, having both of its ends attached to opposite edges of the follower at superposed points, a weight loosely threaded in the resulting" bight of each cable, and a pair of rough which the lengths of each cable are run, substantially as described.

7. An individual towel rack comprising in combination, a casing); composed of back, side and bottom walls and including a front wall extending up from the said bottom wall sufficiently to form a receptacle for soiled towcls, a shelf for supporting a stack of clean towels on edge abo-- said receptacle, a follower, cables attached to said follower, guides for guiding said cables, said shelf having openings therein for downward passage of said cables therethrough, weights on said cables for actuating said follower, and guards fixed to the back and side walls of said casing; to form housings for said weights and thereby prevent interference of movement of the latter when the soiled towels are bunched in said receptacle, substantially described.

8. An individual towel rack comprising in combination, lower receptacle for the soiled towels, an upper shelf for receiving a stack of clean towels on edge, a follower for engaging said clean towels, cables attached to said follower for actuating said follower and having weights movable up and down below said shelf, housings for protecting said weights from interference of movement by the soiled towels, a stringer extending through the clean towels and past the folwe e lower down into said receptacle, a loop in the bottom of said receptacle and rearwardly from the front thereof for passage therethrough of the lower end of said stringer in a forward direction, and means in one forward corner of said receptacle for anchoring said stringer, substantially as described.

9. In an individual towel rack structure, a shelf having a back and adapted to support a stack of clean towels on edge, an actuated follower engaging the front of said stack and being centrally cut-away to render the upper margin of the foremost towel accessible to the user, and one end of said follower having a relatively slender upright arm for engagement of the towel stack adjacent one upright front edge of the latter, a flexible stringer extending through that upper corner of said towel stack nearest said arm and extending through said cut-away portion of the follower, a loop on said back for passage therethrough of the rear end of said stringer and said loop being disposed laterally adjacent said arm sufficiently to exert retaining stress on said stack to maintain its upright edge behind said arm, and means disposed laterally of said loop and away from said arm to anchor said stringer, substantially as described.

10. In an individual towel device, means for supporting a stack of towels on edge, a follower engaging the stack on one side thereof, superposed devices engaging the stack on the other side thereof, and mechanism energizing said follower to coact with all of said superposed devices to hold the rearmost towel in position when all of the remainder of the towels have been withdrawn, substantially as described.

11. In an individual towel device, a shelf supporting a stack of towels on edge, retaining means engaging the stack on one side thereof, a follower engaging the stack on the other side thereof, and mechanism holding said follower against the stack as the latter is reduced and freeing said follower from resistance of drag on said shelf thereby causing said follower to directly 00- act with said retaining means to hold the last few towels in position, substantially as described.

12. In an individual towel rack structure, a shelf having a back and adapted to support a stack of clean towels on edge, an actuated follower engaging the front of said stack and being centrally cut away to render the upper margin of the foremost towel accessible to the user, and one end of said follower having a relatively slender upright arm for engagement of the towel stack adj acent one upright front edge of the latter, a flexible stringer extending through that upper corner of the towel stack near said arm and extending forwardly through said cut away portion of the follower, and means engaging said flexible stringer rearwardly of the towels to exert retaining stress on said stack to maintain its upright edge behind said arm, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I hereby affix my signature.

HENRY A. AMMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

